The pirate world of Oda's One Piece was recently shaken when a big change occurred within one of the franchise's major groups – Yonko, also known as the Four Emperors. The Four Emperors have been known for years, and we all knew when Blackbeard replaced Whitebeard as emperor, but what about Luffy? Is he the adjacent "Fifth Emperor," or is he something completely different? In this article, we'll answer that question for you.

Monkey D. Luffy is currently one of the Four Emperors, so he is not the "Fifth Emperor." Before Kaido and Big Mom's defeat, Luffy was referred to by the press as the "Fifth Emperor," but he was never officially considered an emperor while Kaido and Big Mom were still among them. The title "Fifth Emperor" was therefore only a press title and was not official.

In the rest of this article, we'll tell you what happened to Luffy and how he's related to the Yonko, meaning how the title of "Fifth Emperor" is associated with him. In addition, you'll discover Luffy's current powers and abilities, which will answer the question of whether he's powerful enough to be a Yonko or not. Spoilers ahead!

Was Luffy ever the "Fifth Emperor"?

Now that we know that Monkey D. Luffy is currently one of the Four Emperors, aka a Yonko, we don't have much to explain about this other title. The number of emperors seems fixed, and there have always been four, and there are four right now. We'll reveal more details about them in the next section, but let's just explain why Luffy was called the "Fifth Emperor" and what that actually means.

After the events of the Whole Cake Island Arc, the World Economy News Paper described Luffy as a pirate close to the Four Emperors and gave him the title of "Fifth Emperor." Now, as we said, there have always been four emperors and there are four emperors now, but Luffy was the most powerful pirate not a member of them, and that's why the press gave him that title. He wasn't a Yonko, but he was on their level and he definitely deserved to be among them. He proved this in Wano Country, as you can read below.

The title of "Fifth Emperor" was unofficial, given to Luffy by the media. This never changed the fact that there are only four emperors, and no one considered Luffy an emperor until the events of Wano Country. Now that we've explained all that, we can tell you how Luffy actually became emperor.

Is Monkey D. Luffy a Yonko?

We don't want to give you any unnecessary details about the Four Emperors you already know; we'll just remind you that at the beginning of the Wano Country arc, the Four Emperors consisted of Shanks, Blackbeard, Kaidou, and Big Mom. At the end of the arc, these names will change.

Luffy observes the negative effects of Kaido's dual rule over the country, along with Shogun Kurozumi Orochi, in Wano Country. Shortly after Jack's introduction, Kaido appears as a massive oriental-style dragon with deadly breath. In a drunken state, the Emperor invites Shutenmaru to join his party.

The Straw Hat Pirates and their allies were sheltering in the rubble of Oden Castle, which was brutally destroyed by Luffy using his breath weapon. In retaliation, Luffy made an effort to defeat the beast by forcing it back into human form. However, despite Gear 4's strength, he was unable to harm the Emperor, who incapacitated him with a powerful blow from his club. However, Kaido, aware of Luffy's strength and tenacity, decided to imprison the Straw Hat Pirates in an attempt to break his spirit and convince him to join his crew.

As she had stated on the phone, Big Mom headed towards Wano Country. Furious, Kaido ordered his troops to prevent the Empress and her crew from disembarking the ship, but they were unable to do so. It took King until the very last second to intervene and force them back with a violent blow, causing the boat to crash from the top of the waterfall and sending Big Mom plummeting to the bottom of the ocean.

The Empress wakes up on a beach in Kuri with amnesia. She is carried to Okobore Village by Chopper, Tama, Kiku, and Momonosuke, where Tsuru and the other townspeople care for her and provide her with the meager food they have: simple red bean soup. Unfortunately, she doesn't think it's enough.

Chopper and his companions take advantage of her hunger by taking her to Udon, the prison where Monkey D. Luffy is incarcerated, and pretending that there is soup there. They were unaware that this deception was actually genuine and that the red bean soup made famous by the Queen existed in Udon. Even with amnesia, Big Mom only needs two hits to defeat Kaido's ally despite Queen's best efforts to preserve her meal.

Big Mom then learns to her horror that Luffy ate all of last night's red bean soup. She beats the Straw Hat Pirate and Hyogoro out of frustration at not being able to bring it back to the village and give it to everyone as a token of appreciation for the villagers' kindness. Big Mom, pursued, trashes Udon Prison before being violently struck in the head by Queen's deception.

As she was about to attack an immobilized queen, she fainted just as she regained her memory at that moment. This was exploited by Kaido's men, who gave her several powerful tranquilizers before tying her up with numerous sea granite chains and escorting her to Onigashima, the hideout of Kaido and his gang.

The entire island is then shaken as Kaido and Big Mom engage in a fight to the death. After a brief truce, the two then decide to combine their crews to conquer the entire planet.

However, the news of their cooperation also prompts Marco and Izo of the Whitebeard Pirates to accompany Nekomamushi to Wano Country to support the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance. Marco also prevents the Big Mom Pirates from going to Onigashima by throwing them into the waterfall on their second attempt.

The Ninja, Pirate, Mink, and Samurai Alliance defeats the two emperors Big Mom and Kaidou in the Onigashima Raid, making Monkey D. Luffy and Buggy the Clown the new rulers of the world.